Looking Back at 2011 to Look Forward to 2012

As I reflect back on the year of 2011 for me, I can appreciate all that I have learned and gotten out of this year. I have accomplished a lot and also failed a lot. I am grateful for both. I have taken risks, which have taught me lessons, I might never have learned had I never tried. Over and over, I have been reminded to truly appreciate the moments and lessons along the journey - no matter how wonderful or painful - for they each come with their own gifts!

So I share with you a look back at 2011. I am sharing 12 memories or lessons, that inspired, informed or shaped my life in some way. I have categorized them across physical, mental, spiritual and emotional realms as I believe that balance in our lives is like the four tires of a car across these realms. If one or more tires are out of balance, then my whole life can get a little rocky and imbalanced. As I strive to find more balance in my life, here are 12 lessons, from 2011, to inform more peace and harmony in my life for 2012! (I know this is a lot of information, but it is a recap, so check out what you want, discard the rest!)

Mental (Intellectual/Biz)

1. A VC's wisdom. I have to say, I am not the biggest fan of all VC's (Venture Capitalists to some, Vulture Capitalists to others ;). However, that being said, one VC that stands out and writes remarkable, informative blog posts is Fred Wilson. He writes almost every day and shares wisdom from his daily experience as a VC that are insightful. His blog is www.avc.com and a recent blog post and video that stood out for me was about business and sustainability that is long, but worth watching, particularly the last few minutes if you have it in you: http://www.avc.com/a_vc/2011/10/lineage.html.
2. Women as a Force for Good. Being that I am a woman in business, I am extremely passionate about our place in business, technology, startups, and investing to both transform business, but also have an impact on the planet. We are the voices for a new sustainable, responsible and conscious capitalism that can make business a force for good! Here are some of my blogs and other interesting articles reminding us of the power (and limitations) of women worth checking out can be found in my recent blog: The Next Steve Jobs...A Chick!
3. The loss of Steve Jobs. Whether you liked him or not, Steve Jobs's passing this year was a loss of a great mind. My favorites included his tribute to The Crazy Ones and his Stanford Graduation Address. But for the good, there was also the not as well known Dark Side of Jobs. And finally, my favorite a recent article about the next Steve Jobs being a CHICK...Amen to that!

Physical

4. Sugar is bad, mKay?! I know I probably won't win a popularity award condemning sugar around the holidays, but it is worth knowing ALL of the negative implications of sugar and some better alternatives, including: Xylitol and Stevia. More at my Sugar Blog.
5. Food Matters. What you put in your body - matters - you are what you eat! Evidence shows that every cell in our bodies is replaced somewhere between every year to within seven years. Given that, the implications of studies by Masaru Emoto on water, and the film Food Matters, our bodies are impacted by our thoughts, the food we eat and supplements, so remember to take better care of your body! More at my blogs: You are What You Eat and Supplements for Thought.
6. Surfing, a great metaphor for life. My passion for surfing has translated into so many lessons in my life. It reminds me to keep getting up, even when I'm knocked down, to have patience, to be present and to be persistent and perseverant. More at my Surfing Blog.

Spiritual

7. Giving Back. The earthquake in Japan early in the year set the tone for the year - one of giving, one of deep shifts in our planet's consciousness, and the recognition that we are all connected. Giving's visibility and impact grew throughout the year, which leaves us with reminders that in giving we receive! Some of my blogs on Japan and a three part series giving this year include: Giving for Thought-Japan; Look at Giving Part 1, Giving Part 2, Giving Part 3.
8. Occupy Wallstreet. While some might not put this in the spiritual category, I am putting it here because it is a call for more consciousness and responsibility in finance, business and government. The movement of OccupyWallSt can be tracked at their website: http://occupywallst.org/. Though some of the most powerful moments from the Occupy movement recently that occurred at UC Davis were captured both in Words and in Pictures. Of A good reminder that even in a "free country" and the "greatest democracy on earth," we still have to stay awake and make sure that our freedoms don't get widdled away. Democracy requires consciousness on each of our parts to stay awake and stand up, when necessary, for what we believe in to make this world a better place.
9. The Power of Meditation and the Aquarian Age. Whether you are a believer or not, increasing evidence is coming out about the benefits of meditation - not only to relieve stress, but actually to heal and to improve our efficiency in life and in business (Got Meditation Blog). Additionally, we have entered the Aquarian Age, which is about bringing more balance, feminine energy and healing to the planet (Aquarian Age Blog). Some of my blogs remind us to Breathe, Pay it Forward, and Leave Everything Better Than When You Found It!

Emotional

10. Joy and Laughter. Life just wouldn't be the same without giggles, laughter and joy. So don't forget to have a sense of humor! Here are two funny reminders that made me laugh this year: a Letter to Ryan Gosling that definitely got a giggle out of me and some of my friends ;) and a Video Compilation of parents playing tricks on their kids for Halloween, funny! Laughter - pass it on!
11. Overcoming Fear. I recently read a quote by Michael J. Fox: "The only thing that separates any one of us from excellence is fear and the opposite of fear is faith." It was a good reminder that in order to overcome our fears, we have to face our fears and go through them (or around them), but not let them stop us - as was my Super P Rappel Against Cancer. Sometimes we have to allow ourselves to feel the fear and even let it slow us down - Even Superheroes Have Bad Days! Just as long as we remember to get back up afterwards!
12. All you need is LOVE. This year hasn't been a big one for me for finding love outside of myself, but it was a good one for finding love within, accepting myself unconditionally and even falling in love with myself. In doing so, I also have realized how important love is...it really is all you need and meeting someone who loves you ain't so bad either...I guess that's something to look forward to in 2012! Perhaps I am learning the Keys to the Castle. And if not, I've always got the Beatles to remind me!

Happy Holidays and New Year! May 2012 be your best year yet!

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella1 and twitter @pilarstella.

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

You never lose by loving. You always lost by holding back.
~ Unknown

I recently posted a Facebook status update, “Hey Tina, Love’s got everything to do with it!” Truly, I believe it to be so and to be the crux of just about everything in life! I just finished my next book (to be released this fall), What is the Meaning of Life? After spending the last nine months writing this book and pondering the questions and meaning of life, I realized that it all boils down to love!

Love is so many things. Love is the way someone makes you smile or laugh, the feeling you get in anticipation of seeing them or talking to them. Love is also the way you feel about yourself, the peace inside of knowing who you are and getting that it starts and ends with loving yourself. Love is loving unconditionally, unabashedly, uncontrollably. Love is that flip in your stomach, the flutter in your heart, the tingle in your core, at the simplest thought of a person.

To love is to risk not being loved in return. To hope is to risk pain. To try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. ~ Unknown

I was recently reminded of what love is. My heart was opened in a way I had forgotten. I was also reminded that love is unconditional and it doesn’t always show up the way you want it to. When we try to label love, or put love into a box, we ruin the simplicity of what love is. Yet when we truly honor that feeling inside and the core of love, we see rainbows and feel fairies dancing inside reminding us that we are in love and that we are love, with no conditions or strings. When we love unconditionally, we love that person for all that they are, their life circumstances, their gifts, for everything they are and everything they are not. That is love in its purest form.

Let no one who loves be called unhappy. Even love unreturned has its rainbow.
~ James Matthew Barrie

When we love ourselves with all of our being, we attract others to reflect that back. When we love others without conditions, it is a reflection back at us of the love that we are, plain and simple. What a magical feeling to be in love and to be love!

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella and twitter @pilarstella.

I'm on a Boat!

I would be completely delinquent if I didn’t post a blog about my incredible journey aboard a boat, the Halcyon III, in the British Virgin Islands with the lovely Captains Gail Goodwin and Darryl Slattengren and a whole crew of hotties!

And then I thought better of it, because as you know, what happens on the boat, stays on the boat. But oh wait, we live in the world of Facebook, Twitter and blogs, so I guess that just isn’t the case!

Instead of write a whole lot about it, I thought I’d post the lyrics to the re-write of the song, “I’m on a Boat!” that we did to sum up our adventures. Unfortunately (or possibly fortunately for some of you out there), we were planning to remake the video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBCrsaet-2Q) with these lyrics instead, but it rained on the day of our filming. So you’ll either have to picture a bunch of us jumping around the boat, or wait for our next boat trip, because this boat trip sucked compared to our next one!

Enjoy and just know that life really can be that easy and free – with laughter, love and joy – if we let it be!

Chorus
I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat

I'm on a mother-huggin’ boat, watch me jive
Smooth floatin on the water, in the BVI
On the Halcyon III, straight pimped out ride
You can hug me mother-hugger cause my boat is so fly

Take a better photo, Jim, I'm on a fresh boat trip
We eatin green salad, cause it's oh so crisp
I got my breast pumps… and my flippy flippy floppers,
Anegada, playin pool, chowin vishals lobsters

I'm ridin the dingy, woops, that’s what she said,
Yoga in the mornin’, with the towels on our heads,
Drinkin sport tea, laughin, how sober can we be?
I'm on a boat mother-hugger, wanna snorkel with me?

Chorus I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat

I'm the king of the world, on a boat like Leo
Today really sucks, when compared to tomorrow
Gail and Darryl at the helm, and a boat full of cuties,
Donkeyote and the pirates, yo, Surrender the booty

Handstands, trampolines, straight chillin on a hammock
Just ran out of chocolate, the crew’s in a panic
Fear is an illusion and that’s a fact
But that’s okay mother-hugger, cause we got bushwacked!

Sailed past Branson’s island, who could ask for more
Cheers to him for joining us on the global hug tour.
OneGiving, street smart, front row foundation
Check out our crew, such an inspiration!

Chorus
I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat

Hey there friends, if you could see us now
Arms spread wide, jumpin off the bow
Gonna get wet, but I just don’t care,
Cause this crazy adventure is for us to share!

I hugged a mermaid

Chorus
I'm on a boat
I'm on a boat
Everybody look at me cause I’m sailin on a boat
I'm on a boat I'm on a boat
Take a good hard look at the mother-huggin’ boat!

© Halcyon III crew May 2010

Thanks to the whole crew for the magical mystery boat ride!
Gail Goodwin and Darryl Slattengren with www.inspiremetoday.com
Jim Miotke and Jason Schumaker with www.betterphoto.com
Jon and Mara Berghoff with www.gecresults.com and www.frontrowfoundation.org
Oh yeah and you know me… www.pilarstella.com and www.onegiving.com

Thank you all for the love, light and laughter! ;) p

You can find me at www.facebook.com/pilarstella and twitter @pilarstella.

The FUN Theory and JOY Conspiracy

Every day I am becoming more aware of how important it is for us to enJOY this journey called life, and not get so caught up in the drama, chaos and need to get to some unattainable destination. This is it! This is your life! So you might as well get busy living, or get busy dying - only you can make the choice.

In between goals is a thing called life
that has to be lived and enJOYed.
~ Sid Caesar

Many of you who know me, know that I am an eternal optimist. While I went through a very dark period in my own life, I woke up one day and realized I might as well get busy living. For me this journey has taken me to the place of not only living but living in JOY and FUN!

Despite the never ending bombardment of negativity in the media and world, I have recently been inspired by how people are putting a little dance in their step and a little song in their hearts to have more FUN and JOY in their lives and inspiring others to do the same around the world. So this month, I wanted to share with you a series of videos, blogs and more that have inspired me and are inspiring others to do the same. As I see videos, blogs and sites like these, I can't help but believe that truly indeed, we really are moving into new era of JOY, FUN, PEACE and HOPE. These are just a few examples below of how people like you and me are inspiring the change:

First and foremost is the site: http://www.thefuntheory.com/. This site and project is sponsored by Volkswagen as they have several videos on their site that show ways in which they replace normal every day activities like taking the stairs at a train station, throwing trash away at a park or recyclables away on the street with FUN activities. Their theory is that "FUN can obviously change behavior for the better." Check it out and see if there are ways that you too can be inspired to put a little more FUN in your every day routine.

Another blog, http://www.joyconspiracy.com/, is building the case about those who are conspiring to make this world a more JOYful place. This is the blog site of a friend of mine that recently launched in which he explains in his first blog (http://bit.ly/7ZfrjP) that the JOY conspiracy, much like the pessimist conspiracy that is now inundating our world, news, media and beyond with fear, doubt and negativity, took years for the programming to sink in and happened so gradually that we didn't see it coming. Much like that conspiracy, he believes there is a much more powerful, and may I dare add "stealthy"conspiracy going on, involving a massive group of people intent on creating a JOYful way of life that will refuse to be destroyed. Check it out, document and share your JOYful actions and be a part of the conspiracy and see how it makes you and others feel as you spread the JOY!

Another series of YouTube videos have extended beyond to spread the FUN and JOY to the masses. Each time I get a video like these, I am refreshed and renewed with a sense of hope for the world we are living in, the possibility and optimism, and potential for change by other "joy co-conspirators!" Put a little JOY in your own life and pass it on to others and have a little FUN:
• Grocery Store Musical: This video whether staged or not, definitely puts a smile on your face as these grocery store shoppers bust into a musical urging us to keep our fruit from being lonely by squishing our fruit together! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNemcRSO4yg.
• Wedding FUN: These two videos give a whole new perspective on walking down the aisle: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMIcCY1mB3E.
and the first wedding dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqiw-Kqtlro. Doesn't that make you want to create and innovate for your big day?
• Train station dance: First came the DoReMi dance in an Antwerp train station as people bust-a-move and joined in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EYAUazLI9k, then in a train station in Liverpool: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ3d3KigPQM and the clincher, though planned by ImprovEverywhere, is of a group of people who inundate the subways of New York with no pants: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9La40WwO-lU&NR=1. Imagine the giggles in your day and that of others! Doesn't it make you want to dance and spice up your life and that of others?
• Free JOY: In these two videos we get to see the power of giving away free hugs on the street http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4 and a guy dancing his way around the world spreading the JOY: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY.
• Creative giggles: Two videos come to mind as creative types jump on the FUN band wagon to spread some laughs on a boat : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOvaCV6uQp8 and inspire some hope with stand by me for change:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us-TVg40ExM.

Are you inspired YET? Go have FUN! Push the envelope! Act outrageously, boldly, audaciously and authentically in your truth to live fully in JOY! During this holiday season, rather than getting caught up in all the gifts that you have to purchase, perhaps instead may you be inspired to spread your gifts of FUN and JOY!

JOY is not in things, it is in us.
~Richard Wagner